History of U.S. debt

Federal debt in the U.S. has fluctuated to various extremes through the years. The federal debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP) hit its highest point in 1946 (just after World War II) at 121.2 percent. Its lowest point was in 1907 when the federal debt was 7.25 percent of the GDP.

Following is a list of the average federal debt as a percentage of the GDP for each decade from 1900 through 2009, according to www.usgovernmentspending.com: